China to launch upgraded oceanic satellite by end of 2006
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-09-08 13:55 BEIJING -- Chinese scientists
plan to put into orbit the Haiyang 1-B (Ocean 1-B), an advanced version of the
Haiyang 1-A oceanic satellite, by the end of this year to monitor marine
environment and disasters.
The Haiyang 1-B Satellite was still undergoing testing, said Sun Laiyan, vice
director of the Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National
Defense.
Sun told a national conference on oceanic science and technology that the
technical flaws of the Haiyang 1-A had been removed from the upgraded satellite,
and the data quality to be collected would be improved.
Bai Zhaoguang, chief scientist on the Haiyang 1-B project, said the main
function of the Haiyang 1-B would be to observe sea surface height, waves,
currents and temperatures.
The satellite's operational life was expected to reach three years, one year
more than that of Haiyang 1-A, Bai said.
The Haiyang 1-A, China's first experimental satellite to use ocean color
detecting, was successfully launched in May 2002 and had a designed lifespan of
two years.
The "color" of the ocean is determined by the interactions of light with the
water. The satellite can measure a wide array of shades to determine levels of
phytoplankton, sediments, and dissolved organic chemicals, which most affect the
color.
The oceanic satellite would be China's most important satellites together
with a series of weather and resources satellites, said Sun Zhihui, director of
the State Oceanic Administration.
The administration would actively participate in the country's space plan and
develop satellite projects to realize three-dimensional monitoring of the ocean,
Sun added.
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